P.W. Botha.?

Question

Who was he exactly? Was he deeply involved with apartheid(spelling). I just read an article saying great things about him. and how "terrorist" Mandella was bad.

Answer 1

PW Botha, who died last week, could be called the architect of late-era apartheid, as the Prime Minister of South Africa who refused to listen to international pressure and continued to implement policies of separatism based on racist social Darwinism and imperial ideals. He oversaw police brutality on a massive scale - one could call him the Saddam Hussein of South Africa.

Answer 2

P.W Botha was the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984, and then became the country's first President.

When he got into power apartheid had already been operating in South Africa for some time. He loosened some controls, like getting rid of bans on intermarriage and even authorised contacts with the imprisoned Nelson Mandela. Still he ruled South Africa with an iron grip, to the point that he was deposed by Frederick D de Klerk. From then on apartheid's days were numbered.

Mandela reckons Botha had some good points, in that he helped keep South Africa stable.

Answer 3

PW Botha was a president in apartheid South Africa, a thuggish party hack who appealed to a narrow afrikaner support base.

Answer 4

PW Botha was one of the second-rank dictators of the 20th century -- not up there with Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot, but mo0re on the level of Pinochet of Chile, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Milosevic of Serbia, Tudjman of Croatia and Stroessner of Paraguay.